How To Write A Mortgage Hardship Letter

By: Jeni Carr

Break Studios Contributing Writer

Learning how to write a mortgage hardship letter correctly will assure you of getting your short sale or modification package accepted. Without a well written letter or legitimate reason for your hardship, the bank may deny your request. A hardship letter is a request to the loss and mitigation department for help. Reasons why a hardship letter may be considered are divorce, incarceration, loss of employment, illness, medical bills and military service relocation. This article will list some easy steps in how to start, end and help rectify your financial problem.

Address your letter to the officer in charge of your account. A good way to address the letter is with, "Dear Mr. Roger Smith." Do not write, "To Whom It May Concern." Keep the mortgage hardship letter personal and always be courteous. By addressing the letter with a person's entire name, not just Mr. Smith, you are showing respect.
Write the mortgage hardship letter in longhand. Besides being courteous in your opening salutation, make sure you write the hardship letter in longhand--do not type the letter. The letter must be from a person who has no money, not someone with an IBM computer. Make sure you have nice penmanship.
Keep it very personal. At first glance, the loss and mitigation officer must love you. Keep the entire letter personal and tell details of what has happened to you. Tell a bit about your life, but not too much. Do not disclose more than is absolutely necessary.
Keep the hardship letter short. As stated in step number three, never tell more than necessary and keep the letter short and to the point. A long letter might have information that you unintentionally included. There are some things that can be misinterpreted. Writing things like, "I am flying to visit my Grandmother in the hospital" might indicate you have enough money to purchase an airline ticket. If you have enough money to fly, why don't you have enough to pay your bills?
Give details on what caused your hardship. Write enough details about your hardship to get your loan request approved. Remember, the bank has to be convinced that you are in need and that without their help you cannot avoid foreclosure. The secret to any mortgage hardship letter is not to threaten with bankruptcy or foreclosure but "hint." Writing things like, "I just don't know how to avoid more problems" will place a sense of doubt in the bank. Asking for help is necessary.
Be humble in your request. It is important to be extremely humble in requesting help from the bank. Do not be overly obvious. Never be arrogant, pushy or demanding. The way to a loss and mitigation officer's heart is with compassion and humbleness.
The final step is to be thankful. When concluding the mortgage hardship letter, be thankful. Appreciate the time the officer has taken to listen to your request and thank him for any consideration that he might give towards your reasonable offer. Sign the letter in longhand and make sure your envelope is a business envelope. The letter should be folded in threes.